Cool new mid side mic holder from Shapeways

[anton]

I just go this mid side mic holder from Shapeways for my AKG 414 and Gefell M300. Some of you may have seen me post about this shop before, this guy designs all sorts of cool mic holders that Shapeways will 3d print.

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/srsrecordingservices



I wanted to do more mid side recording, and emailed him to see if he could whip something up for my specific mics. It uses the Rycode Invision, which I already had.

It seems to work pretty well. The Rycote does not sag to much and I can everything on one stand. I'll have to do some recording with it this weekend.

[Doug Young]

Looks cool! Those guys are great. I had them make me a "vertical XY" holder, super easy, just gave them the specs, and it shows up in their catalog.

[anton]

Yea I sent him some dimensions of my 414, and a bit later he sent me a link for this thing. Its pretty similar to some of the other pieces he offers, maybe exactly the same, I have not compared. He might have just tweaked the arms a bit so the mics are at the correct angle. The less mic stands I can have sitting around the better, and this is super convenient.

[min7b5]

Just ordered one myself. Thanks Anton

[Chipotle]

I suppose I could ask them myself, but... do any of these holders attach directly to a mic stand? Some obviously don't and need some sort of clamp like the Invision, but there are others it's hard to tell (e.g. this XY mount).

On another note, what is the advantage of vertically aligned XY, as in the link above, as opposed to where the "corners" of the mic face touch, like this?

[anton]

One of the previous ones I had fit into a standard 20mm mic clip. I'm not sure if these current ones do or not. He is pretty responsive if you send him a msg over Shapeways.

I have one of their ORTF mounts for my Gefells, and my calipers measure the main post at 19.75mm. I don't see that particular one on their site anymore. I use it with the Rycote holder, but it might also work with a standard mic clip.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by anton

One of the previous ones I had fit into a standard 20mm mic clip. I'm not sure if these current ones do or not. He is pretty responsive if you send him a msg over Shapeways.

Whoops, I just didn't look far enough. Looking for a "contact button, I found this is at the bottom of the page:

"Unless otherwise indicated, the mounts you see in this shop are designed to be used with a 20mm shock mount... or a conventional 20mm microphone clip.... None of the mounts in this shop are designed to be mounted directly on a microphone stand." So there you have it.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

On another note, what is the advantage of vertically aligned XY, as in the link above, as opposed to where the "corners" of the mic face touch, like this?

Long question (or answer), and a bit off the topic of this thread. I'm not sure if you're asking about the MS setup Anton posted about or the vertical XY I mentioned - they're different. But basically, every mic placement setup has its own sound - that's the bottom line, so it depends on what you like. The "Vertical XY", sometimes called "over/under" and some other things is just a different approach (not what Anton's showing). Its main benefit, I'd say, is that both sides sound similar, so it's good to use when you might end up wanting to pan it one way or the other without having to chose from different sounds. Its downside is that both sides sound similar (pro and con are the same!).

Mid-Side, which is what Anton's posting about here has a benefit that it is totally mono-compatible, while still being able to produce a very wide stereo image. It also allows you to delay the decision about stereo width until mixing time, so you can do anything from mono to ultra-wide stereo, and decide later. MS has a nice "centered' sound that I find works well with solo guitar, but the mono compatibility and delayed width decision means it would also be a good choice for mixing with other instruments.

But ultimately there are a lot of "standard" ways to mic a guitar, maybe 10 or so, and infinite other variations beyond that, and choosing one just comes down to what works for your gear, room and ears.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Long question (or answer), and a bit off the topic of this thread. I'm not sure if you're asking about the MS setup Anton posted about or the vertical XY I mentioned - they're different.

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear enough, so pics will help. Not XY vs M/S, but this:



versus this:



Shapeways has both mounts for the mic I'm interested in. There's the over-under config of the first, and a different angle (mics pointing more towards each other) for the second, but both are XY variations. Why would you use one over the other?

[Doug Young]

Ah, that's just two different approaches to getting the mic capsules "close" to each other. I doubt you'd hear any difference. Maybe Bob Womack or one of our other pro engineers here would have a better answer, tho. I avoid both approaches :-)

The angle, tho, varies the stereo image. XY is usually done at 90 degrees, but there's nothing to keep you from doing a smaller angle (narrow image) or a wider angle (wider image)

[DukeX]

These are very cool, thanks for posting anton.

[KevWind]

Interesting. So am I understanding this correctly , you can send them (Shapeways) a scale drawing and they will make you a mount to your specifications ?

[anton]

Kev,

I've never designed anything and had Shapeways print it, only bought stuff from other folks there. From what I understand you can send them a design and they will print it. I think it needs to be a 3d modeled or something pretty complex, more than a 2d drawing with measurements.

For the place that makes the mic holders, SRS Recording Services, I told him what mics I had and asked if he could make a Mid Side holder of some sort. That is what he came up with, basically modifying one of his existing designs.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by anton

For the place that makes the mic holders, SRS Recording Services, I told him what mics I had and asked if he could make a Mid Side holder of some sort. That is what he came up with, basically modifying one of his existing designs.

For the one I had them make, I just told them Schoeps CMC6, the angle and distance apart I wanted. They did the rest.